The oldest active parish in the nation with a continual pastorate, St. Ignatius sits beautifully on a 120-foot bluff above the Potomac River near Port Tobacco, Maryland. St. Ignatius was founded in 1641 by the Reverend Andrew White who accompanied Catholic settlers to Maryland on the Ark and the Dove.
The oldest surviving marker is the burial site of Elizabeth Darnall who died in 1705.
A resident priest explained the lack of older markers. In the 17th century, most of the burials were closer to the river, and mostly of wood.
During the Civil War, soldiers on the Virginia side of the Potomac fired cannon at the stone headstones, destroying them.
In 1866, much of the interior of the church was destroyed by a fire, and records were lost. However, later headstones of Robey, Digges, Neale, Mudd, etc. show that many Charles County colonists were interred here.
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